Thursday, March 5, 2009

My Week In Review

Hello, my Bloggy Friends! Is anyone still stopping by to visit? I realize that I have been M.I.A. for almost a week, so I thought I would catch you up on what's been happening at Casa de Envy.



SATURDAY: Snow White's show choir, Sound FX, performed in their first competition of the season. They BROUGHT IT, but the judges only saw fit to award them second place. They. Were. Robbed. Not that I'm bitter.....



We didn't return home until midnight, and we just HAD to watch the DVD of their performance! It was a LONG day, but I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. I love those kids!!



In this photo, Snow White and her BF are the couple front and center (he is VERY tall with dark hair, and the center microphone goes right through them!!!). They are singing Fabulous Places, which is their theme this year.











SUNDAY: We watched the news Sunday morning, and were aware that the snow was supposed to blow in around 6 p.m. The forecast was for 4-6 inches. The perfect snow...you watch it fall, stay home for a day, and cook enough soup to feed an army. Right?



I drove separately to church so I could go to the grocery store immediately following the service. (I'm really not a procrastinator. There was no time to shop on Saturday due to the 14 hour show choir deal.) After taking my turn in the nursery at church, I headed out to Food Lion. My list consisted of "snow snacks" and food that could be simmered ALL DAY while watching the beautiful snow fall.



I should have known that we were doomed when I left the grocery store and was immediately pelted in the face with ice. It was only 1:45 p.m.




I headed home with a full tank of gas, and a trunk full of food. And wine, of course:)





After a nap, I fixed a big dinner and settled in to catch up on blogging and facebook. At 10:00 p.m. the power went out. Oh, joy. It was too late to fire up the generator - the wind was blowing a gale, and we could see snow lightning in the distance. White-out conditions are not conducive to hooking up a generator. Soooo, we piled on the blankets and tried to sleep.


MONDAY: When daylight finally arrived, there was a collective sigh of relief. It was STILL SNOWING, but the wind had diminished and we could get outside and get something accomplished. CB got the propane heater out of the shed and started the process of slowly warming the house.....which was around 60 degrees. (It could have been SO much worse.)


The next order of business was to fire up the generator. Once again, we had lights, water and news available to us! The food in the fridge would not spoil, and we could flush!! (It's really all about the little things, isn't it?) The only problem? Heat. We were able to add an electric heater to our arsenal, and the two heaters kept the house at about 65 degrees.





Once we had the basics under control, CB and I headed out to try to do some damage control. He got on the tractor and headed down the driveway. There were trees across the road, and it was difficult to tell exactly where the driveway was. Chainsaw in hand, he managed to cut the trees back and clear a path along the drive.




I grabbed the snow shovel and began clearing the sidewalk, porch and grill area. I had a feeling we were going to be grilling our dinner! My cat supervised.....





Snow White was in her room, blinds open, hoping that we wouldn't ask her to help!! Typical teenager!!!



After our work was finished, and we had a chance to thaw out a bit, the three of us decided that it would be fun to take a drive. We were also well aware that the heat in the truck can get VERY warm!!!

As much as I hate to admit it, the snow along the driveway was beautiful.





When we got down to the hard surface road, we could tell that the VDOT trucks had been through with their plows. Didn't do much good.....I'm glad we didn't have to drive on this one-lane road after dark!




After driving on snow covered roads for a half hour or so, we realized that we needed to get back and get some dinner on the grill before we lost all of our daylight. CB grilled up burgers, mashed potatoes, green beans and.......CAKE!!




Yes, you read that correctly. Snow White mixed up a cake mix, poured the batter into two disposable pans and tightly covered them in foil. CB put them on the grill (not right above the coals) and rotated them every so often to ensure even cooking. We had no idea how it was going to work, but...




...it was delicious! Especially after SW frosted it with chocolate icing!! It's definitely something we will never forget:)

TUESDAY: School was closed again Tuesday. Unfortunately, I had to try to get into work because it was payday for our employees. If any of them decided to venture out, I wanted to make sure that I had finished running payroll. I was in the process of packing a bag of essentials so I could shower at the office, when the power decided to come back on! YAY!!!


SW and I quickly took our showers and prepared to head out. I dropped her off at The Boy with the Perfect Teeth's (TBWTPT) house, and headed to the office.


Once I felt like I had everything back under control at work, I headed back home to prepare that HUGE pot of soup that I had been salivating over before the current went out! SW & TBWTPT arrived shortly after I did, and they headed out to go sleigh riding. We had a great evening eating soup, and watching the Sound FX dvd...for the twentieth time!!!


WEDNESDAY: SW & TBWTPT (with assistance from our dog!) built an amazing snowman!









About 2:00 Wednesday afternoon, I started feeling light-headed and dizzy. When the waves of nausea came, I decided that it was time to head home.


This is a fairly accurate depiction of how I felt......




(That's EXACTLY why teenagers should never be kept out of school for three snow days in a row!!!!)


I went to sleep at 3:30 p.m., got up long enough to eat a bowl of soup, and slept until 6:30 Thursday morning. It dawned on me that fatigue may have been the issue, not illness.


THURSDAY: Today was the most normal of all. School was only on a two hour delay, and I was able to get to work on time. I'm feeling much better, and looking forward to the warm temperatures that will be arriving over the weekend!!


I'm also looking forward to another fabulous show choir competition. GO Sound FX!!!


Marlene, the next time we get this much snow, I am going to call you. At that point, I will expect you to drive a tractor trailer to my house and remove EVERY FLAKE!!! If I had had power, or your phone number, earlier this week.....you would definitely have heard from me!!!!! NNG & I said, "Well, I hope she's happy!!" Bwahahaha!

20 comments:

Unknown said...

Your daughter is very talented!! Must have very good genes.

Oh boy what a week! Tell me, what does an electric toilet look like? I have the kind that flushes without electricity.

Boy, did you let Marlene have it!! HA!

I'm glad you are feeling better....come on over and enter my
Blog Birthday contest.

mom x 2 said...

You got A LOT of snow! I think more than we did - although at 8 inches, I'm not sure another couple makes that much difference.

Your week sounded something like mine, minus the power outage and the not flushing thing! Gotta love having county water- hahah!

Miss you! Tell SW good luck this weekend !

Unknown said...

Wow! You all have had quite a week!
PERFECT Snowman! The pictures of the roads and trees are Breathtaking! Gorgeous!
and I'll have to remember that cake idea...turned out great!
Glad you're feeling better!

I Am Woody said...

Yeah, snow is MUCH more fun when you have POWER!! Just think of all those calories you were burning with that snow shovel!!

Unknown said...

So, it missed a little bit...next year I will try to be a little more specific!

But, you did learn you could make a cake on the grill and you got lots of beautiful photos and I am sure that I am SW and TBWTPT's most favorite person!!!

Glad you will always remember Blast o Fun ala Marlene 2009!

Busy Bee Suz said...

You must have been beaming seeing SW in her performance...that girl will be on broadway one day, won't she???
You have had quite a week. I was wondering what happened to you..what You don't call, you don't write? what gives?? Oh, mother nature. darn her.
Glad you are feeling better and back to "almost" normal.
I love the cake on the grill...that is such a girl scout thing. really.

Mental P Mama said...

I am going to smack the stew out of Marlene when I see her in July. And after reading this, I have decided to excuse you for being absent;) Just don't make a habit of it.

Tammy said...

You had some kind of week! That's what I call a butt load of snow! I can't believe you cooked a cake on the BBQ, that's just amazing.

Snow is definitely more fun with power. I hope you get some warm weather soon!

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

What an exciting and eventful week.

Now that I understand the full extent of Cool Breeze's grilling skills, he may as well block off July 16-19 and surrender, because he's cooking at Blog Fest. The end.

Glad you're back to normal, whatever that may be.

Beautiful, beautiful pictures.

Noe Noe Girl...A Queen of all Trades. said...

What a week! Little T goes back to school tomorrow. My driveway is a sloppy mess and I think I will have to four wheel out of here in the morning. It was all I could do to get up the hill this afternoon so I will be bailing on choir practice tonight for fear I wont be able to get thru the mud in the dark!
I love the snowmen and I am glad you feel better. We were able to find a hill for Little T to go down!

Keetha said...

OH MY.

First, long weekend. That made me kind of tired reading.

Second, snow is gorgeous! We got a dusting that made The Child just joyous.

Third, now I'm craving soup. :-)

Caution/Lisa said...

Do you have a video posted of the choir? I would love to watch/hear them. What fun it must be to be part of a group like that.

A cake on the grill?! How smart you all are!

I'm glad you have a generator. Every year when our power goes out, we say, "We really need to get one." Then we go to McDonalds instead and forget all about it until the next storm.

Glad you had some beauty in your life this week, and I'm glad you're back from your blogging vacation:)

Treasia Stepp said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Treasia Stepp said...

Wow what a week everyone had. I love reading though that everyone took it in stride and actually enjoyed it. I would have never thought of baking a cake on a grill. It looks as if it turned out great.

Driving in the snow is so beautiful to do. I enjoy doing that a lot.

Your kids are talented. Love the snowman and the picture of it laying on the ground. Sorry you felt so bad.

Unknown said...

Oh my good heavens : ). Holy Canoli! You got so much snow. SO so much. It sounds like it was a fun adventure though. I totally dig that snow man. That's how I will feel if we get snow one more time this year. I have had TOO much this year. It stresses me out!

Bella Della said...

Isn't it glorious outside??? You guys have a great weekend. Glad you enjoyed my Tom Petty story. I will have to post about that sometime soon.

Barking Mad! said...

Thanks so much for sharing tidbits of SW's show-choir performance. I bet that was so exciting for all of you. What a great talent to possess.

I'm always interested in reading the adventures of others who don't normally get as much snow as we Maine-ahs do. There's something about the wonderment of it all and the beauty of the snow covered trees and landscape that can only be perceived and articulated through someone who doesn't go through it as often as we do.

Usually, by the 2nd storm here in Maine, we're all cussing at the snow trucks to move faster and cussing at each other to stop driving like arses! *lol*

Awesome pictures, btw. I loved hearing all the details. Especially the cake part. Next time the power goes out, bake the cake with a can of cherry pie filling on the bottom, before you pour the cake batter on it. Trust me, it's to DIE FOR!

Auds at Barking Mad!

littletoesandcheerios said...

WoW, Snow White and White Snow! She's one talented and beautiful girl. I was thinking there was no way this cake will turn out..and voila it looked great as well! She can dance, bake and make a killer snowman!

I know it's hard to drive in and cold, but man those pics are very pretty.
Sure missed ya!

(Sometimes!) Serendipitous Girl said...

Why is the snow SO MUCH prettier at other people's houses? I told Bella Della too, I like YOUR SNOW.

foolery said...

That was some week, Miss Envy. Yes, as a California Valley Girl I envy people who get snow, but since I know Not. One. Thing about dealing with snow, I guess I'm glad we don't get any.

Wow, BBQ cake -- Mr. CB and SW rock! Also, high fives to SW for the performance! It sounds wonderful. :)